While the people of a small Arizona Territory town in 1873 are busy battling regional Apaches, hostile extraterrestrials attack and unite the warring humans in the movie project "Cowboys and Aliens."

Will the foreign invaders try to push the humans off their land using advanced technology and weapons? Do the extraterrestrials regard the Earthlings as primitive savages?

Maybe the humans have a higher consciousness and are better prepared to fight this unconventional conflict than the aliens expect.